Oxygenating fuel

Abstract

A system and method of oxygenating liquid fuels, such as diesel fuel, heating oil, gasoline, and other combustible liquid fuels. Oxygenated fuel may be used by vehicles, aviation aircraft and heating systems to increase performance and efficiency and produce cleaner emissions. Liquid fuel is oxygenated by depositing concentrated oxygen gas directly into the fuel, typically when the fuel is stored in a container such as a fuel tank of a motor vehicle. Concentrated oxygen gas percolates with the liquid fuel, thereby producing oxygenated fuel. The use of oxygenation liquid fuel by a combustion system results in increased fuel efficiency, as seen by increased efficiency (such as better gas mileage and horsepower), and improvements in the quality of exhaust emissions, as seen by reduced amounts of CO2 and NO produced during combustion of oxygenated liquid fuel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/701,844 filed on Jul. 22, 2005. The content of the aforementioned application is fully incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to oxygenating combustible fuels, such as diesel fuel, heating oil, gasoline, and other combustible fuels.

BACKGROUND

Soaring fuel prices have become a major concern in the United States and global economy, while poor air quality, as a result of burning conventional fuels, is a major concern for the environment as well as human health. High fuel prices increase the cost of getting to work, of taking a vacation, and heating a home and have become increasing burdensome for the average American.

The high price per barrel of crude oil, the source of gasoline for automobiles and heating oil for home energy, directly and negatively affects the day-to-day lives of consumers. The cost of fuel has a direct affect on the price of goods and services; the increased cost associated with manufacturing and delivering products to parts of the U.S. is passed on to the consumer in the way of higher prices for items such as milk, produce, and other important necessities. Higher fuel prices have caused the airline industry to impose fuel surcharges on airline tickets. Cities have been forced to increase the price of public transportation to balance the strain on municipal budgets due to higher energy costs.

In addition to the increased costs associated with commuting and travel, the average American household using heating oil is expected to spend 30-40% more on heating bills this winter due to the higher cost of oil. The cumulative affect is that ordinary day-to-day life for the average person has grown increasingly more expensive.

There are well over 200 million passenger vehicles on American roads, and drivers travel close to 2 trillion miles per year. A more efficient fuel source could save the average driver thousands of dollars by improving the average miles per gallon of the vehicle, while cleaner fuel emissions would lessen the risk of damage to the environment.

Reformulated gasoline has been used in an effort to increase fuel efficiency and improve air quality. Generally, there have been two different chemical additives that have been used in an attempt to improve the quality of fuel emissions and increase the miles-per-gallon per vehicle. There are serious drawbacks to these chemical additives, however.

Chemical additives pose potential threats to the environment and human health. Environmental dangers include the risk of chemical spills and ground and water contamination, with the costs of clean-up treatments exceedingly high. Furthermore, there are no long term studies to show the effects of exposure to contamination of the environment with these chemical additives. This is problematic, since one of the common additives, ethanol, is a known carcinogen at certain doses and unintended exposure poses human health concerns.

In the years since the Clean Air Act, the average number of vehicles per household has increased, with many more vehicles on U.S. roads and more drivers commuting longer distances to and from work, while gasoline prices in recent months have reached all time highs. Not coincidentally, the incidence of cardiopulmonary conditions such as heart disease, emphysema, and asthma is on the rise.

Eliminating the combustion engine or reducing overall transportation of vehicles, are unattainable goals at this point in our society; thus a more desirable remedy to help increase fuel efficiency and improve air quality is needed.

SUMMARY

Described herein is a system and method of oxygenating liquid fuels, such as diesel fuel, heating oil, gasoline, and other combustible liquid fuels. Liquid fuel is oxygenated by depositing concentrated oxygen gas directly into the fuel, typically when the fuel is stored in a container such as a fuel tank of a motor vehicle. An oxygen source provides concentrated oxygen gas, such that the concentrated oxygen gas percolates with the liquid fuel, thereby producing oxygenated fuel.

Oxygenated fuel is transferred to a combustion unit, such as an engine, of a combustion system associated with propulsion or energy generation. The system and method of oxygenating fuel allow the combustion system to operate much more efficiently; miles per gallons are increased and harmful emissions produced by the burning of fuel are decreased.

In one implementation, a small amount of concentrated oxygen gas is deposited into fuel contained a fuel container, such as a fuel tank of a motorized vehicle. As a result, it was observed that fuel mileage of the vehicle greatly improved. Additionally, the vehicle operated more efficiently with improved power. Also the amount of pollutants discharged by the vehicle was substantially reduced. For instance, the concentration of gaseous emissions, such as NO and CO, released by the truck into the environment were approximately halved.

As an ancillary benefit to the reduction of pollutants released by automobiles as exhaust, it may be possible for the auto industry to reduce or eliminate catalytic converters from motorized vehicles. This would in turn increase the power of a vehicle, and reduce the overall cost of manufacturing the vehicle by eliminated the catalytic converter.

Deposition of concentrated oxygen gas may be carried out by way of a conduit, such as a hose or tubing. The conduit may be manually inserted into the fuel container through a hole in the fuel container. In another implementation, the system is adapted so that the conduit remains fixed to the fuel container and attached to an oxygen source. Oxygen is transported from the oxygen source into the liquid fuel in the fuel container.

Oxygenating fuel may be carried out on a periodic basis, such as daily, periodically during the day, and so forth. Depending on how the system is configured, the liquid fuel may be oxygenated manually or remotely. Oxygenated fuel appears to hold a concentration of the oxygen for approximately 12 to 24 hours, depending on environmental conditionals and whether the fuel tank is pressurized or not.

Oxygenated fuel utilized by combustion systems increases combustion and performance that would be especially useful in the airline and trucking industries, as well as for daily commuters, by increasing fuel efficiency and decreasing harmful emissions. In addition, oxygenated fuel would enable aircraft, such as jets, to fly at higher altitudes, which has implications for the U.S. military.

It is also noted that oxygen may deposited into the liquid fuel in solid form, such as a tablet.

Further details and advantages of the invention will become apparent with reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The figures are not drawn to scale.

FIG. 1A shows a system for oxygenating fuel.

FIG. 1B shows an overview of a method for increasing fuel efficiency of a fuel combustion system.

FIG. 2 shows an overview of an alternative method for oxygenating fuel using a vacuum pump.

FIG. 3 shows an overview of a fuel combustion system.

FIG. 4 shows an overview of a system for oxygenating fuels adapted to a heating system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is an overview of a system 100 for increasing fuel efficiency of a fuel combustion system 112 (shown in FIG. 1B). The system 100 includes a fuel container 102, an oxygen source 104, and a conduit 106, wherein the conduit facilitates deposition of a concentrated oxygen gas into the fuel container 102, thereby allowing concentrated oxygen gas to percolate with a liquid fuel 108. FIG. 1B shows an overview of a combustion system 112, the combustion system 112 including a combustion unit 114 for combusting liquid fuel 108.

Fuel container 102 is any container used to hold a liquid fuel 108. For example, suitable containers 102 include a gasoline can, a steel drum, a gasoline station tank, a fuel tank for a motorized vehicle, a fuel tank for a water vehicle (e.g., boat, ship, etc.) a fuel tank of an aviation aircraft, a tank for heating system, as well as other containers or tanks used to store liquid fuel.

Liquid fuel 108 contained in fuel container 102 is a combustible fuel such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene or heating oil, or any other suitable combustible fuels.

An oxygen source 104 provides concentrated oxygen gas with an oxygen concentration typically greater than 25%, which exceeds the concentration of oxygen gas normally found in air. In one implementation, the oxygen source is an oxygen gas having a concentration of greater than 85%.

Oxygen source 104 is a tank or canister used to contain pressurized concentrated oxygen gas. In another implementation, the oxygen source 104 is an oxygen concentrator capable of creating of oxygen.

A conduit 106 connects the oxygen source 104 to the fuel container 102 and facilitates the deposition of concentrated oxygen gas from the oxygen source 104 into the liquid fuel 108 contained in the fuel container 102. In one implementation, the conduit 106 is adapted to remain attached to the fuel container 102, in such a fashion as to reside with the fuel container 102. Conduit 106 is threaded into the fuel container 102 and is submersed into the liquid fuel 108 through a portal 110. Portal 110 may be a sealed hole through the wall of the fuel container 102 dedicated to the conduit 106 or may be the opening used to fill the container 102 with liquid fuel 108 normally protected by the cap.

In one implementation, concentrated oxygen gas travels through the conduit 106 and is deposited into the liquid fuel 108 upon attachment of conduit 106 to, and engagement of, the oxygen source 104. In another implementation, conduit 106 may remain attached to oxygen source 104 and be manually attached to the fuel container 102 at times when oxygenation is deposited into the fuel.

In one implementation, the conduit 106 is rubber tubing, although conduit may be of any non-reactive material that is stable when inserted into a combustible fuel and capable of transferring oxygen gas. In another implementation, the distal end of the tubing submersed in the liquid fuel 108 is configured to contain multiple small pinholes. These pinholes (not shown) allow more oxygen to bubble up, become dispersed in the fuel and percolate throughout the container 102.

System 100 may be configured to reside as part of a vehicle or as part of a heating system. For example, vehicle may be manufactured to include an oxygen source 104 connected via a conduit 106 to fuel container 102. Control over when oxygen is deposited into the fuel container 102 may be performed automatically by control system, such as a processing system of the vehicle.

In another implementation, system 100 is configured as a kit, such that oxygen source 104 and conduit 106 are adapted to be compatible with motorized vehicles, such as automobiles, trucks and other motorized vehicles powered by a combustible liquid fuel. For example, the kit could be purchased in a store as a package containing an oxygen source 104, conduit 106, or any other necessary elements to secure the oxygen source 104 and conduit 106 onto a vehicle, thereby assembling system 100 as a mobile and portable system that travels with the vehicle.

In another implementation, the oxygen source 104 may be replenished upon the complete discharge of concentrated oxygen gas by re-filling the oxygen source 104 with concentrated oxygen gas or by replacing the depleted oxygen source 104 with a newly charged oxygen source 104, such as a fresh tank or canister of concentrated oxygen gas.

In another illustrative embodiment, fuel container 102 is configured with a protective barrier as a safety measure to safeguard liquid fuel 108 from accidental combustion. Fuel container 102 may be adapted as a double-walled chamber (not shown) capable of holding liquid fuel 108, wherein a space between the two walls contains an inert gas (a fire retardant) such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide. Preferably, a standard fuel tank of a motorized vehicle such as a truck or automobile would be replaced with a double-walled gas tank to safeguard the gasoline or diesel from accidental combustion when used in system 100.

Oxygenation of fuel occurs when tube 106 is deposited into fuel 108 and oxygen is discharged from source 104 into the fuel 108. In one implementation, when oxygenation of fuel is carried out manually, the conduit 106 is placed directly into, and submersed in, the liquid fuel 108 of the fuel container 102 by inserting conduit 106 into the fuel container 102 through the portal 110. Oxygenation of fuel is carried out when the oxygen source 104 is engaged and concentrated oxygen gas is transferred from the oxygen source 104 through the conduit 106 and into the fuel 108. The concentrated oxygen gas is then allowed to percolate with the liquid fuel 108. It may also be mixed around in the fuel using a swirling motion. When oxygenating is complete, the oxygen source 104 is disengaged such that concentrated oxygen gas no longer travels through the conduit 106 and into the liquid fuel 108 of the fuel container 102.

In one implementation, the oxygen source 104 is disengaged and the conduit 106 is removed from the fuel container 102 by threading the conduit 106 out of the fuel container 102 through the portal 110. Alternatively, the oxygen source 104 is disengaged and the conduit 106 remains connected with the fuel container 102 such that when further oxygenation is desired, the oxygen source 104 is re-engaged.

FIG. 2 shows oxygenation of liquid fuel 108 that is contained in a fuel container 102 that is separated from combustion system 112. Here, fuel container 102 is a non-pressurized 55 gallon steel drum. System 100 is adapted to incorporate a second conduit 202 attached to a vacuum source 204. The second conduit 202 is placed inside the fuel container 102 such that the conduit 202 is not in contact with the liquid fuel 108. Oxygenation occurs when the vacuum source is engaged and conduit 202 is placed inside the fuel container 102 through a portal 110, whereby the conduit 202 does not come into contact with the liquid fuel 108. Conduit 106 is connected to the oxygen source 104 and connected to the fuel container 102 by is threading conduit 106 through the portal 110, such that conduit 106 is submersed in the liquid fuel 108. When oxygenation is completed, vacuum source 204 and oxygen source 104 are disengaged, conduit 106 and conduit 202 are removed from the fuel container 102 and portal 110 is secured by a gas cap. Oxygenated fuel stored in the fuel container 102 is now ready to be used in a combustion system 112.

FIG. 3 shows oxygenation of liquid fuel 108 contained in a fuel container 102 prior to combustion in a combustion unit 114. Here, oxygen source 104 is secured at a separate location from the fuel container 102, such that the oxygen source 104 is manually connected to the fuel container 102 by conduit 106. Conduit 106 may be attached to the fuel container 102, such that the conduit 106 is manually attached to the oxygen source 104 to carry out oxygenation of fuel. Alternatively, conduit 106 may remain attached to oxygen source 104, in which case, conduit 106 is manually attached to fuel container 102 to carry out oxygenation of liquid fuel.

In one implementation, oxygen source 104 is an oxygen tank or canister, or other oxygen generator, used to deposit concentrated oxygen gas into tanks of a fuel filling station or into the pump mechanism (not shown) used to fill vehicles.

In another implementation, oxygen source 104 is an oxygen tank or canister, or oxygen concentrator and is located separately from, such that it is not fixed to, a vehicle 302 propelled by combustion unit 114.

In one implementation the combustion unit 114 is the engine of a motorized vehicle 302 such as a truck or automobile.

In another implementation, the combustion unit 114 is the engine or turbine of aircraft aviation.

Turning to FIG. 4, there is shown a heating system 400 using fuel oil 404. Heating system 400 includes a fuel container 402 containing fuel oil 404 to which the oxygen source 104 attaches by way of the conduit 106. Concentrated oxygen gas is deposited into the fuel oil 404 and allowed to percolate with the fuel oil 404 in the fuel container 102 prior to transfer to a combustion unit 114.

In another implementation, concentrated oxygen gas may be deposited into the carburetor of a motorized vehicle (not shown in figures).

In yet another implementation, catalytic converters may be eliminated (or modified) from motorized vehicles utilizing system 100 of oxygenating fuel, as the levels of pollution are substantially reduced.

The exemplary implementations herein are not necessarily limited to the exact details described herein, and various modifications may be made resulting in equivalent designs as would be evident to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Claims

1. A method comprising: depositing a concentrated oxygen gas directly into a liquid fuel, wherein the liquid fuel is stored in a fuel container prior to transfer to a combustion system, whereby the deposition of the concentrated oxygen gas causes the concentrated oxygen gas to percolate in the liquid fuel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel container is a tank of a motorized vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel container is a tank of a aviation aircraft.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel container is a tank of a heating system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel container is a tank of a fuel filling station.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid fuel is gasoline.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid fuel is diesel fuel.

8. The method of Claim, wherein the liquid fuel is fuel oil.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid fuel is aviation fuel.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of depositing concentrated oxygen gas includes transferring concentrated oxygen gas at a concentration greater than 25% from an oxygen source through a conduit.

11. A system for oxygenating combustible fuel, comprising: a fuel container containing a liquid fuel; an oxygen source capable of providing a concentrated oxygen gas; and a means for transferring the concentrated oxygen gas into the liquid fuel.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the fuel container is a fuel tank on a motorized vehicle.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the fuel container is a fuel tank on a aviation aircraft.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the oxygen source resides within propinquity to the fuel tank.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the means for transferring the concentrated oxygen gas is a conduit adapted to transfer concentrated oxygen gas from the oxygen source and deposit the concentrated oxygen gas into the liquid fuel of the fuel container, such that the concentrated oxygen gas is allowed to percolate with the liquid fuel of the fuel container.

16. The system of claim 11, whereby the oxygen source is a container containing concentrated oxygen gas at a concentration of greater than 25%.

17. A method for increasing fuel efficiency of a fuel combustion system, the fuel combustion system including a fuel container configured to store liquid fuel and a combustion unit for combusting the fuel, the method comprising: releasing concentrated oxygen gas into the fuel container so that it percolates with the liquid fuel.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein concentrated oxygen gas is released into the fuel container through a conduit, whereby the conduit is adapted to connect the fuel container to an oxygen source.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein concentrated oxygen gas is released from an oxygen source adapted to reside in propinquity to the fuel container of the fuel combustion system.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the oxygen source is a container containing concentrated oxygen gas at a concentration of greater than 25%.